Dawn Staley and South Carolina basketball are riding high as they prepare to host Morgan State University of the MEAC on Wednesday night.
The top-ranked program in women’s basketball comes into the game off a nail-bitting win over Duke earlier in the week. It faces a Morgan State squad that has been up-and-down early in the season.
The last time Dawn Staley and South Carolina State hosted an HBCU it recorded an 82-point margin of victory by beating Mississippi Valley State in November. South Carolina has also vanquished the last two MEAC basketball champions from the NCAA Tournament, easily defeating Norfolk State in 2023 and Howard University in 2022.
GAMEDAY AI ADVANCED STATS
South Carolina | OVR 7-0 | SEC 0-0 | HOME 4-0
- One of the Gamecocks few weaknesses is that they only shoot 60% from the free-throw line at home in Colonial Life Arena.
- The Gamecocks have demonstrated prowess on the defensive glass when playing at home this season. They’re averaging an impressive 40.5 defensive rebounds per game at Colonial Life Arena.
Morgan State | OVR 3-5 | MEAC 0-0 | AWAY 0-2
- Tamaria Rumph led Morgan State in the team’s last matchup against Saint Francis (PA), scoring 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Rumph now comes into this matchup averaging 7.3 points per game on 38.2% shooting for the season against D1 competition.
- The Lady Bears come in with season averages of 2.0 blocks per game and 11.3 steals per game against D1 competition. Kaia Ponder has been their individual blocks leader (1.0 per game) while Sedayjha Payne has led them in steals (2.1 per game) in those contests.
Key Metrics
- South Carolina tends to start hot. The team averages 43.9 first half points per game, second best in the SEC (conference average is 35.5).
- Look for Morgan State to get out quickly in this one as well. The Lady Bears average 35.0 first-half points per game in Division I contests, which ranks second in the MEAC (conference average is 28.3).
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